Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Yesterday I posted about the Ohio governor's race in general, and specifically about how perplexed I am that newly announced candidate Eric Fingerhut's criticism of Howard Dean's recent visit to our state. The odd thing as that Fingerhut was on record as being "insulted" by Dean's visit before the event even took place--someone brought it up in the question and answer period immediately after the Honesty in Government event held on Wednesday morning. Petty snipes at fellow Democrats would seem to be a counterproductive tactic in a year that we have Ken Blackwell and his band of zealous theocrats to fight.

Thankfully, there is another candidate in the race, Ted Strickland, who has already won a number of key endorsements. Given that the Republican nominee is very likely to be Ken Blackwell, a favorite of the Religious Right who routinely appears at events carrying his Bible, Strickland, as an ordained minister may have a unique advantage if defusing or counteracting some of the rhetoric coming from the Blackwell camp.

Over at Street Prophets today, there is an interview with Ted Strickland...

Strickland grew up hardscrabble in Southern Ohio, on a dirt road that Roy Rogers and Branch Rickey also called home. A story that turns up often in his speeches concerns the chicken shack his father fixed up as temporary housing after the family home burned down. "Believe me," he's fond of saying, "if you learn anything from living in a chicken shack, it's that things can get better."